NowNS: Saint Mary’s MTEI program puts young adult skills to work

Christine Hamblin poses for a photo near the Sobey Building on the campus of Saint Mary's University in Halifax. Hamblin is the program manager, Master of Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Saint Mary's University Sobey School of Business. (STAFF)

A Halifax university program is seeking to address the challenges and opportunities of youth employment and immigration in Nova Scotia.

Saint Mary’s University’s Master of Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation program is offering a program that connects MTEI students with co-op work terms at local companies.

“A high proportion of the MTEI is made up of international students, who take the program to experience life in Canada,” said Christine Hamblin, MTEI program manager.

“The MTEI has an internship option, which gives them the opportunity to gain local work experience and a potential reference for when they continue on their career path.”

MTEI is a graduate business degree that imparts the relevant business knowledge students will need in order to innovative a product or service, and to then develop, commercialize, and grow the resulting startup.

“There are many benefits in recruiting international students and it's probably easier than you think to get someone with specific language skills, cultural awareness, overseas contacts and professional global experience that can help your business grow,” said Hamblin.

“Whether you want to recruit an international student for an internship, vacation work or a longer term graduate position, we can help.

The MTEI has an eight-month project-based internship, in which the students can help your business with anything you need such as Innovation Processes and Management for example. Interns benefit the employer greatly.”

The 2014 Now or Never Report recommends increasing immigration to the province and bring youth employment to national levels.

“The talent and skills these students possess is incredible,” said Hamblin. They are heavily educated and experienced professionals, averaging over five years of full-time work experience in industries like IT, engineering, project management, etc. Companies are able to hire these students as eight-month interns, meaning if the company is wondering about the long-term fit of the intern, they are able to release the intern after eight months; whereas if the intern is a great fit, the business is welcome to keep them on.”

The MTEI curriculum takes knowledge and skills from management, marketing, leadership, finance, accounting, communications, economics and information technology and integrates them with best practices from industry to produce sharp, relevant learning. Students access investors and partners in their quest to become a successful technology entrepreneur and innovator.

“Students choose the MTEI program because it is a full-time graduate degree, but its design allows them to continue in their careers while pursuing their Master’s degree: in-class sessions take place on alternating Fridays and Saturdays,” said Hamblin. “They are hard, long days, but it pays off. Students also pursue the MTEI because it is a program from which you can leave with a new startup and a Master’s degree.”

International students also have a significant economic impact, she added.

“Studies show that international students spend $217 million each year, an average of $28,500 per student in Nova Scotia,” said Hamblin. “This creates 1,890 jobs, and injects $91 million of new money into the local economy. In other words, for every dollar the province spends on their health care and education, an international student spends $3.40.”